For more than six decades, the Federal Aviation Administration has relied on employees of airplane manufacturers to do government-required safety inspections as planes are being designed or assembled. But critics say the system is too cozy, as company employees do work for an agency charged with keeping the skies safe while being paid by an industry that the FAA is regulating.

Airlines in multiple countries have suspended the use of Boeing’s new 737 MAX 8 aircraft amid concerns over its safety, after an Ethiopian Airlines flight of the same model crashed Sunday, killing all 157 people on board.

The plane was traveling from Miami to Houston when it crashed Saturday about 40 miles southeast of George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Only one body has been found so far, Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne said.

Tuesday’s flight was the first step in what Boeing calls tests to advance the safety and reliability of on-demand autonomous air transportation. The flying car concept is being developed with a vision of whisking passengers quickly from one point to another while alleviating traffic congestion on city streets.

Manassas, Virginia-based Aurora Flight Sciences, acquired by Boeing in November for an undisclosed sum, has been awarded a $48 million U.S. Air Force contract to continue development of its Orion Unmanned Aircraft System.